Eclipse

Old Friend

I watched the white-haired woman leave silently, the umber door clicking closed behind her.

The short man sighed, his tired eyes flashing to the shadows occupying the corner of his office.

He sees me. Not bad, Makarov.

Parting from the darkness, I eye the old guild master with a faint smile playing on my lips. He merely nods in greeting.

"Akemi." He looked at me in the eye, his charcoal grey optics nearly making me flinch as a fragment of my past memories surface into my mind.

Sighing--a gentle yet rough sound that pierced my heart--softly, he motioned towards the chair opposite his mahogany desk.

"Sit."

Obediently, the black bandages on my feet rustled as I moved towards the cushioned chair, sitting down.

"Makarov-san, the Alverez Empire is making a move." I started, but his hands were already clenched, his knuckles turning white from the force he was exerting.

"What move?" He growled, gritting his teeth.

I've never seen him this angry; this worried, before.

My eyebrows furrowed as I bit my lip, the once cheerful Master about to explode with fury. Pain curled itself around my heart as the man who saved my life held hatred for the Empire.

I'm so sorry, Makarov-san. Alverez is bringing a war right to your doorstep.

"My Master has decided that he has had enough waiting for E.N.D to destroy him. As he said, if the world rejects him, he shall reject the world." I lowered my gaze, studying the grains of wood on his desk to avoid the animosity in his stare.

"Master Zeref wishes
to destroy this world."

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Three days later,
the Fairy Tail guild disbanded.
Master Makarov went missing.

On that very day,
my contacts in the Empire
told me of a short old man from Ishgar arriving in Alverez.

He has interacted with Emperor Spriggan.

I'm worried, Makarov-san.

Please, be careful.

Master Zeref...
is not as simple as he looks